A good north-south skater, but not particularly agile. His top speed is good/average but he has great acceleration and can beat opponents with his first strides. He always seems to be on the move in the sense that contains his speed well without pedaling his feet so when he gets the puck he just need a few strides to get ahead of his opponent. He has good balance as well.
Grade: 50

Shooting:

A good goal scorer who scores in every area of the offensive zone. He shoots really well when skating at top speed. He has a quick and good wrist shot which he likes to use from the right circle. He has a good slap shot and one-times the puck really well with both the slap shot and the wrist shot. In his junior team he is often used on the point on the power play. Another upside is his confidence in breakaways, were he uses his fast shot or a simple deke effectively.
Grade: 55

Puck skills:He likes to skate and shoot but isn’t a specifically good passer/playmaker. He can carry the puck with speed and control. He has good puck control but he is kind of a simple player in the way that he doesn’t use many surprising moves with the puck.
Grade: 45

Smarts:He is pretty smart at finding open space without the puck, making himself a good player to pass the puck to. He has that goal scoring knack of being at the right place at the right time a lot. In his junior team he is often used on the penalty kill as well as he sees the lanes well. On the downside he is not that great of a back checker and isn’t as good at seeing the danger in the own end as he is in the attacking end of the ice.
Grade: 50

Physicality:

He is not afraid of crashing the net or going in to tight areas if that what is needed to score a goal. He is also a decent shot blocker. He is not a physical player though and rarely beats his opponents by pure strength. He isn’t very effective in getting takeaways either. For a junior player he has good size and speed but in senior level he is more medium sized and isn’t yet fast or slippery enough to not be needing better physical play. He physically matured early and hasn’t grown much the last two seasons.
Grade: 40

General assessment:

Wahlgren will be a great goal scorer for many years. The question is on what level he will score those goals. For a player like Wahlgren to become an NHL player he needs to become good enough to play in the top two lines. His shot and his knack for goal scoring has that potential. If he can get even faster on his skates he could become a good transition player. His somewhat average playmaking abilities do not have that top six potential, though. Physically he doesn’t yet look to becoming strong enough to become a power forward at the NHL level. He had a good second half of this season, he made his SHL debut and scored a goal from a one-timer in the slot. Next season he will be playing in Allsvenskan, the second highest senior league, and that will probably benefit his development and give scouts more clues on how good he can be. I think Wahlgren is a tough case for many scouts in the later rounds of this years draft. I think his World U18 campaign (6 goals) helped his case and I think he will be a 6-7 round pick.

Agile skater with decent top speed. He accelerates well in transition and can sometimes come out of nowhere on a rush to a great scoring chance. The balance is a bit of a weak point on his skating.
Grade: 50

Shooting:

He has a great wrist shot and snapshot. His shot is dangerous from both close and far out from the goal. Being a right handed shooter he likes to shoot from the left circle. On a power play he is often used on the left circle or left side of the blue line. He can be used on the right side as well and scored a great goal in a big game from the right circle on a rush in the SHL last season. His shot has a lot of potential but he needs to score more goals and score on a more consistent level to get a higher grade. He doesn’t use his shot as often as he should.
Grade: 50

Puck skills:Quite a nice stick handler. With his agile skating he can carry the puck and deke his way through the defense. He needs space to his things and must get better at deking in high traffic or with high pressure of opponents. He loses the puck a bit too often in those situations. He is a nice passer though, both long and short he can find open players.
Grade: 55

Smarts:

He reads the game very well. He sees lanes and is often in the right position defensively. He is really good at breaking up a play and to start a turnover attack. With the puck he sees the game good as well. It sometimes looks like he has an overview of the ice to see how other players are moving. He lacks consistency and sometimes it looks like he reads the game too much in the sense that he becomes more of a watcher than a doer. He has yet to show that he can become consistent in his ability to be on the move and reading the play at the same time and making good things happen more often.
Grade: 50

Physicality:

He has good size, reach and speed so when he has gotten a bit space and has his feet moving he can be hard to stop. As written his balance could use some improvement. When an opponent can use the body on him it’s a bit too easy to knock the puck from him. He rarely plays physical in the sense of delivering hard hits and he could use his size more in that way. He more often steals the puck in breaking up a play than winning it in a physical battle. He doesn’t shy away from blocking a shot though. As of willingness to crash the net he sometimes does it well and sometimes can be looking too long for an opportunity further from net.
Grade: 40

General assessment:

From is an exciting prospect who really showed his best side at the world juniors for Denmark. You can see great potential in almost every aspect of his game but he is still much too raw in all those aspects to make the certain assumption of him becoming an NHL player. If he figures out how he best can use his assets I think he can become an NHL player as maybe a scoring third line winger. He has the smarts for it, the skating for it and the shot for it. Mostly he needs to learn how to use his shot more often, get a stronger balance on his skates and start making things happen on a more consistent basis. For the draft he is a later round pick with low risk and with a possible reward.

AthleticismHe is quite flexible and agile. He can be pretty spectacular making outstretched saves on both high and low hard shots. He has a good and quick glove hand.
Grade: 50

Quickness/SpeedHe is fast getting down and up from his knees. He is quick moving sideways and reacts quickly on surprising puck bounces. A responsive goaltender who needs to be quick since he moves around a bit more than the average goalie of today.Grade: 50

Compete/TemperamentHe hasn’t yet been tested more than short appearances at the SHL level and hasn’t been the starter for the national junior team in any big tournaments yet. With that in mind he still has shown to handle adversity well. For example, he lost his spot on the national team last year but responded with harder work and won it back. He is also capable of bouncing back quickly after a bad goal or a bad start to a game. All and all he is a stable competitor.
Grade: 50

Vision/Reading PlayHe is very active in the crease and is almost always ready for a shot and keeping his eyes on the puck, tracking it facing high traffic. He often plays at the top of the goal area and sometimes he cheats (or reads the play very well) when he saves a sideway pass with one-timer shot. Since he is often a bit far out from the net he has a distance sideways to make those saves.
Grade: 55

Technique/StyleHybrid. Aggressive to the shooter and more standing up than average goalie of today. He gets down on his knees when the shot is fired but rarely works on his knees when puck is cycled in his teams own end. He plays far out, at the top of the goal area, and is vulnerable sideways and when the puck come bounces back from boards behind the net. Facing a two-on-one he needs the defenseman to take away the pass so he can be aggressive to the shooter. With pressure in a penalty killing-situation he needs defensemen to be ready to cover the posts with their sticks since he is often at the top of the goal area and has a distance getting back. The strength with his technique is that he is more effective versus hard shooting snipers with his aggressive and athletic style.
Grade: 45

Rebound ControlWith the aggressive style a lot saves bounce off him but he is pretty fast at collecting loose pucks in front of him and is okay at steering pucks to the corners. He has better control on the glove side than the blocker side.
Grade: 45

Puck HandlingThis is an area where he could really use some improvement. He doesn’t get out and play the puck enough. As a more of a standing goalie he should be able to get to more pucks and start some offense for his team.
Grade: 40

General assessment:As if 18-year-old goalies aren’t difficult enough to prospect as it is, Marmenlind is a talent that hasn’t yet been tested as a starter at the senior level or in a big junior tournament. He definitely will though. Marmenlind was arguably one of the best goalies in the J20 Super Elit putting up great numbers on a team that didn’t make the playoffs last season. He is an aggressive goalie with good athletic ability and quickness. He needs to become more consistent and stronger in all the aspects of his game but I’d really would like to see him develop his stick handling abilities which, with his more standing style, would give him an edge on equally talented goalies. For the NHL draft I see him as a late round pick if he gets drafted this year. It’s tough to yet see the full potential now but I would say that he at least has a top potential in the range of becoming a NHL backup or a good top league starter in Europe.

Strong skater who is really fast and makes a lot of trouble in the transitions. He accelerates well and has good top end speed. He is also agile which makes him hard to catch for the defenders. He has a strong balance on his skates which helps his modest size but still need to get stronger to more often be a threat playing at the highest level in Sweden.
Grade: 60

Shooting:

He has a fast wrist shot with a really quick release and is good at one-timing the puck. He shoots well in high traffic. He hasn’t a particularly hard shot though and doesn’t score that many goals. He is more of a playmaker than a sniper. When he does score it’s most often within the slot or right in front of the net.
Grade: 50

Puck skills:He is a creative passer and a good stick handler. He can make both great long passes and quick short passes to open up the game. He can control the play with the puck and has the ability to both speed up the pace of the game and to slow it down. He is quick in his decisions and rarely makes mistakes with the puck. In tight areas he has the ability to make smart plays thanks to his great hands.

Grade: 60

Smarts:

This is Asplund’s greatest asset. He reads the play really well both with and without the puck. He sees the game well in all three zones. He is a smart checker and he is good at winning the puck in the own end and create offense from it. He is quick in his decision making on the ice and often ahead of his opponents in thinking the next move. A two way centre.
Grade: 65

Physicality:

Although he has a small stature he is pretty strong, especially in his balance. He has shown playing against men at the highest level in Sweden that he has the ability to make good plays even when he is hard checked by opponents. He is pretty good at face offs as well. He is not physically strong yet though and rarely wins puck battles with his body strength. He works hard and plays an intense game and shows a great will when he chases the puck.
Grade: 45

General assessment:

Asplund is a smart centre who has the potential of both a top six centre or a third line centre in the NHL. Since he has good speed, skill and smarts he can be effective as a winger as well. To reach his potential he needs to continue to develop all his assets but mostly needs to get stronger and more consistent at the senior level. He plays on a top salary team in Färjestad and didn’t get a big offensive role this season. He was only 10th in ice time for forwards in his team. Of his 12 points, none came on a power play. At the world juniors he got a bigger role due to injuries and had a pretty good tournament with 5 points in 7 games. This season he is expected to be a leading player on the Swedish team. He is a top 1-2 Swedish based player for the draft and should have a reasonable chance of being drafted in the area of 25-40 overall. Size is an issue of concern.

Carlsson has great mobility. He isn’t a super fast skater but moves smoothly and can beat players to the puck with his speed. He also skates well with the puck and skate his way with the puck through pressure in the own end. His smoothness helps him in closing gaps or reacting quickly to danger in the own end. In the offensive zone he can move smoothly across the blue line and he is quick to cover the points to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
Grade: 55

Shooting:

He has a nice slap shot. He isn’t your number one shooter from the blue line on the power play but he shoots fast and has a pretty good goal scoring potential for a two way defenseman.
Grade: 55

Puck skills:He has good calm and smooth puck control. He has a solid first pass that moves his team out of danger and into an attack. Sometimes he can be a bit over creative with the puck, mostly in the sense of trying a long pass for a turnover that ends up with an icing call. He rarely makes big mistakes with the puck.
Grade: 55

Smarts:He thinks the game well. He reads the play both offensively and defensively well. He is always turning his head in the own end trying to the detect danger. He has an active stick and reads the passing lanes well. Sometimes he positions himself a bit too close to the goal but mostly has good gap control. The way he reads the game helps him move economically in getting in to the area were the puck is heading. He likes to join the attack as a “fourth forward” and often detects those opportunities well without risking to much defensively.
Grade: 55

Physicality:

Not a hard hitting defenseman but has good balance and doesn’t shy away from the dirty work. He works hard in front of the net, blocking shots, boxing out forwards or shielding for the goalie to help him with his rebounds. He is not afraid to race the puck to get it out of the own end or keeping in the offensive zone and take a hit for it. He isn’t big but he isn’t small either. He could probably train his way up to 200-210 lbs on his 6’0 stature.
Grade: 50

General assessment:

He started this season with the junior team but was promoted in November and then stayed the whole season in SHL. He played 16 minutes per game in SHL and in the playoffs he played 22 minutes per game. His smartness and mobility helped him in the transition to the pro level fast. His skills and shot helped to score some goals as well. He actually scored an award winning highlight goal. Carlsson is a two way defenseman and for such a young player he has handled the defensive side of the game really well. He was actually used more on the penalty kill than the power play in SHL. For NHL prospecting, which is to put the player in to a future role in NHL, Carlsson isn’t a sure success. All of his attributes have NHL potential, but his offensive game doesn’t have the edge you need to have a productive role on a power play. He isn’t strong enough to be a defensive shutdown type of player either. Carlsson is a modern, mobile and smart two way defenseman who could play on a second or a third pairing. He can play on both the left and right side. He can be used on both the power play and penalty kill but not as the go-to-guy. I’d say that Carlsson is a solid depth pick and he should be drafted this year (was eligible last year and not picked). Somewhere in round 4-6 I’d say.